Hon Ben Nwankwo has approached the federal high court to sack Hon Chris Azubogu as the candidate of APGA for Anambra south senatorial zone.
According to a judiciary source who spoke to newsmen, Hon Ben Nwankwo is asking the court to nullify the nomination of Hon Chris Azubogu as the candidate of APGA for 2023 Anambra south senatorial election alleging that he is still a member of PDP and can not hold APGA ticket when he is yet to defect officially.
According to the source, Hon Azubogu from their investigation has not officially announced his defection from PDP to APGA at the floor of the National Assembly. He affirmed that before a parliamentarian can defect to another party his letter of defection would be read by the Speaker and his defection to a new party announced to his colleagues at a plenary.
“In the case of Azubogu, he only went to obtain APGA membership card and participated in the Anambra south senatorial primaries without following the due process to announce his defection to APGA as specified by law at the Green Chambers”, the source stated.
He concluded that such a matter had been decided by a court of competent jurisdiction where it was decided that for an elected lawmaker to have deemed to have decmaped to a new political party, he must write to the Speaker and his defection announced at the plenary.
He added that Azubogu failed to follow that process knowing that if he officially writes the Speaker of the House of Representatives of his defection to APGA, his seat will be declared vacant as the courts including the Supreme court in many occasions have declared seats of some lawmakers vacant for defecting to another party.
He stated that their checks on the records of the house of representatives reveal that the purported defection of Hon Azubogu is not contained in any of the order paper of the lower chamber.
Hon Ben Nwankwo is therefore asking the court to determine if a lawmaker who fails to officially write the Speaker for his defection can hold the ticket of another party to contest for 2023 national assembly election.
©AIF Media
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